Acupuncture in Horsham

The word “acupuncture” is derived from Latin roots. The Latin word “acus” means a needle and acupuncture means “to puncture with a needle”. Individually wrapped and sterilized fine needles are inserted into various, carefully chosen acupoints along the meridian lines in order to disperse any blockages and bring the Qi into a better balance. The idea is that the more this balance is achieved and maintained, the healthier you become.

Although an acupuncturist’s diagnosis and treatment is different from that used by Western medicine, that doesn’t mean that acupuncture cannot have a beneficial effect on many traditionally “named” illnesses. Indeed, current research into acupuncture by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 has listed 28 conditions that acupuncture has been proved to treat effectively. These conditions include: adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, bilary colic, depression, period pains, acute epigastric pain, facial pain, headaches, hypertension, induction of labour, knee pain, low back pain, morning sickness, nausea and vomiting, neck pain, pain in dentistry, post-operative pain, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, sprains, stroke, tennis elbow and pain in general.

That’s a HUGE amount of problems that The World Health Organization recognises Acupuncture CAN DEFINITELY help with!

That same report also mentioned 63 conditions where acupuncture was shown to be effective but further proof (or clinical trials) were needed.
This list included
abdominal pain,
alcohol dependence,
bronchial asthma,
cancer pain,
earache,
eye pain,
female infertility,
fibro-myalgia,
gallstones,
arthritis,
shingles,
insomnia,
labour pain,
lactation deficiency,
male sexual dysfunction,
Menier’s disease,
nosebleeds,
obesity,
addictions,
PMS,
sore throat,
spine pain,
stiff neck,
Tourette’s syndrome and whooping cough.

The core understanding of Acupuncture is that illness or pain occurs when there is an imbalance or interruption of the body’s essential energy – Qi.

The understanding is that this energy or Qi flows through our bodies via documented pathways, or Meridians – think of these as a set of highways carrying energy around our bodies – when these highways become blocked, so our health suffers.

Acupuncture aims to unblock the highway and so restore the flow of Qi, rebalancing the system.

Qi can also be compromised by a variety of factors such as our environment and lifestyle. When this happens the body falls out of balance and we get sick, injured or just don’t feel 100% well.  An Acupuncture treatment will also, therefore offer lifestyle advice.

Chinese medicine looks at the individual as a whole and searches out the root cause of a problem – rather than just treating the presenting symptom. It recognises that every person is different so two people who have the same symptoms may be suffering from vastly different underlying problems.

Once a diagnosis is made, the balance of energy needs to be re-set.  This is done in Acupuncture by using ultra fine, sterile needles to stimulate specific points (known to you and me as Pressure Points) along the Meridians.  There are over 365 Pressure Points across the human body. By treating specific points on the body the Acupuncturist aims to remove blockages and rebalance the body allowing for optimum health.